Rewards from the Pedontist

We had out little boy's teeth checked by a pedontist.  This is our third attempt to have his teeth checked in the hope that he would submit by opening his mouth and showing his teeth.

The first dental visit was with our family dentist.  I had to sit on the dental chair and attempted to show that it is fun to sit on it.  I showed him that dentists are not scary and that they will just check whether you are brushing properly.  As expected, he refused to sit, even on my lap while I sat on the dental chair.  Worse, he refused to show his teeth.  Ah, our family dentist, after all, has no specialized training for children.

The second dental visit was before the sister of a good friend.  The said dentist works for the AFP and is holding office at Villamor Airbase.  We drove all the way to her clinic to ask for her opinion of what should be done.  Good thing her son was there to play with our little boy, the latter showed her cute little smile.  Our little boy showed his teeth and she explained to us the procedure that should be done.  We were referred to a pedontist who has specialized training in dealing with children.  She recommended us to her classmates in dentistry and we were briefed on what to expect.

After the visit, we passed by and took pictures of the old fighter planes and we showed the little boy around, will discuss that on a later post.

Two weeks ago, we visited a pedontist.  The clinic is very different to other dental clinics we know of.  There were toys all around and the place has colorful walls.  We filled-up a chart and history taking followed.  After a few minutes, it was our turn.

We were greeted by a young, cheerful, and "pretty dentist", the latter adjective being supplied by the little boy.  The little boy was asked to open his mouth and to show his teeth and he willingly obliged.  After which, he was asked to lie down on my lap.  While there was a few resistance, the little boy again obliged and he allowed the dentist to clean his teeth.  There was a spiels -- the dentist explained to the little boy that she needs to turn on the light to see better and that she needs to wear her mask.  The dentist even asked for the little boy's permission for her to touch his teeth and to clean it.

I do admire pedontist for their patience.  After all, it is not an easy task to deal with toddlers and kids.

After the visit, the little boy was asked to choose a toy as his reward for being a good boy.

There were four beetles -- red, blue, green, and yellow. The blue truck on the right is his own.

The little boy chose a set of beetle cars and he enjoyed them, even if his toys are way better than the plastic ones given.  Maybe because it came from his dentist.  She even referred to her dentist as the "pretty dentist".  Oh boys, when will I understand you? :)

The little boy refused to have his picture taken.

By the way, every time we mention the word pedontist, the little boy would correct us by saying -- "not pedontist, dentist."  

To borrow the little boy's words, see you, "pretty dentist!" :)